WiFi is a technology that allows electronic devices to connect to a wireless local area network (WLAN) through an access point. The term WAP is used herein to denote a WiFi access point. WAP connections are commonly free and therefore there is a growing interest in connecting to WAPs as often as possible.
A client device continuously probes its environment to identify available WAPs. Each probe and attempted connection consumes computation resources and battery power. In the case of a moving client device (e.g., a client device in a car, train or other vehicle), the client device is potentially exposed to a large number of WAPs. Continuously attempting to make connections in a moving environment is likely to result in a large number of failed or transitory connections, which degrade computation resources, battery life and a user experience. If one disables WAP connection attempts in a moving client device, one may forego the opportunity to connect a WAP that is moving (e.g., a WAP on a bus, train, ship or other vehicle).
Accordingly, there is a need to identify a moving WiFi access point and manage connections with it.